Our Way to Fight: Israeli and Palestinian Activists for Peace by Michael Riordon

Michael Riordon travels through occupied Palestine, recording the untold stories of Palestinian persecution and cruelty at the hands of the Israeli government. In an effort to right the wrongs of a corrupt government determined to eliminate Palestinians from Israeli soil, peace activists from both camps use the system to fight injustices Arabs face each and every day. Through vignettes, Riordon uses the 1948 War of Independence as the historical backdrop for Israel reclaiming its Holy Land and seeking to evict Palestinians from their land, dignity, and will to live. Painting them as terrorists, Israel has convince the world to look the other way while it continues its ethnic cleansing. 

This nonfiction is phenomenal. I never really understood all of the circumstances surrounding the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and I'm ashamed to say that I accepted the media's version of events. What Riordon's books shows, however, is the danger of accepting false truths and propoganda, and the power that people have if they will simply stand up and say, "No more." 

Riordon says that he wrote this book to tell the rest of the story, to move people to action. the following quote encompasses the basic premise of enlightenment: 

"The trouble is that once you see it, you can't unsee it. And once you've seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as speaking out. There is no innocence. Either way, you're accountable" (Arundhati Roy, p. 4). 

Humans have a responsibility to one another, and no one is exempt.